Southaven Mayor Greg Davis indicted on three charges

Dec. 18, 2012 — Steve Farese addresses the media from his Ashland, MS, office on indictments facing his client, Southaven Mayor Greg Davis. State Auditor Stacey Pickering announced Tuesday that Davis has been indicted on one count each of embezzlement, false pretense and making fraudulent statements. (Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal)

Dec. 18, 2012 — Southaven Mayor Greg Davis has been indicted by a Mississippi grand jury in DeSoto County for two counts of embezzlement by a public official and one count of false pretense.

Southaven Mayor Greg Davis, under fire for more than a year over his use of city funds and other alleged improprieties, has been indicted by a DeSoto County grand jury on three counts related to his city-leased vehicle, the use of city gasoline and a check he received from the city for a personal expense.

Dist. Atty. John Champion said during a news conference Tuesday that the counts were "the tip of the iceberg" in the ongoing state and federal investigation of Davis.

"The investigation is ongoing and very active," added state Auditor Stacey Pickering during a separate news conference in Jackson. "Expect further news in the new year."

Pickering also announced that a Jan. 28 civil trial date has been set over charges dealing with credit card reimbursements paid by the city for Davis' personal expenses. The expenses included dinners, clothes and a trip to a gay sex shop in Canada during a recruitment trip by Davis.

Davis turned himself in on the three grand jury charges Tuesday morning, when he was booked into the DeSoto County Jail in Hernando shortly before 11 a.m. He posted a $3,500 bond and was released.

Specifically, the two-page indictment charges Davis with two counts of embezzlement by a public official and one count of false pretense.

The indictment says in reference to one of the embezzlement charges that Davis "unlawfully and feloniously, knowingly, used the city gas pumps located on Getwell Road at one of the city's fire stations to fill up the tank of his personal vehicle."

The indictment said this happened "numerous times" during an 11-month period.

On the second embezzlement charge, Champion said Davis in 2009 purchased a 2007 Ford Expedition that the city had been leasing for him. When the two-year lease was up on the SUV, valued at $43,000, Champion said Davis purchased it from the leasing company for $10,000.

"The vehicle did not belong to him," Champion said. "The vehicle belonged to the city, and it was the Board of Aldermen who were to make the decision on who the vehicle went to, if anybody. The aldermen were never aware of what happened. The mayor took things upon himself. He obtained the vehicle without approval from the Board of Aldermen."

The third charge, false pretense, alleges that Davis requested and received a $1,000 check from the city to pay dues to Mississippi State University's political action committee, called the Bully Bloc. Davis received the money, but the PAC never received the donation.

Mississippi State is the mayor's alma mater.

Champion said the penalties for the felony charges laid out in the indictment total 35 years in prison if Davis is convicted.

Davis' attorney, Steve Farese, said at his Ashland, Miss., office that Davis is not guilty.

"It's a shock to anyone to be indicted," Farese said. "He's shocked, he's dismayed, but he's confident we can mount a good defense to these claims."

Farese said he didn't expect Davis, if convicted, to face "anywhere near" the maximum penalty on the charges.

Davis, 46, has been under state and federal investigation for the past year.

Last November, Pickering ordered Davis to repay more than $170,000. He still owes $70,000 that the auditor is seeking to recover by garnishing his paycheck and through a lawsuit filed in Hinds County Chancery Court.

As word of the indictment spread Tuesday, aldermen said they had no idea the state indictment was coming.

"We weren't aware that it was happening today, and it caught us off guard," said Alderman Ronnie Hale. "We want to let the constituents know that we are operating the city day to day like it needs to be done. We are not going to let the indictment hinder the operation of the city."

Davis has been the leader of Southaven, the third largest city in the state, since 1997.

Pickering said Tuesday's indictment does not remove Davis from office.

"Under state law, if he is convicted, then he could be removed from office," Pickering said. "I will be having conversations with the state attorney general and the governor on what steps need to be taken if he is convicted."

Davis' indictment is the latest in a series of issues the beleaguered mayor has faced this year.

His ex-wife, Suzann Savage Davis, filed a petition this summer accusing him of hiding assets from her, drinking excessively around his children and using his political clout to threaten her.

She is seeking an amended child support arrangement and other changes to the original divorce settlement.

She also went after the mayor's boyfriend, Jansen Fair. She is suing Fair, 27, a Starkville, Miss., hair stylist, for $1 million in an alienation of affection lawsuit accusing him of breaking up her 20-year marriage by luring Davis away from her.

Most recently, four Southaven aldermen and Southaven Police Chief Tom Long filed affidavits that said Davis altered payroll documents given to his former wife that showed he made less money than he actually made.

Greg Davis timeline

Nov. 2, 2011: Mississippi Auditor Stacey Pickering issues a demand ordering Southaven Mayor Greg Davis to repay $170,782.28 for personal travel and expenses paid for by the City of Southaven.

Dec. 15: Receipts from Davis reveal he had the city pay for wide-ranging expenses including thousands of dollars worth of liquor, expensive dinners at a local restaurant and a visit to an adult store catering to gay men while on a recruitment trip to Canada.

Jan. 6, 2012: Southaven Board of Aldermen votes 5-1 to ask Davis to resign as mayor. On the same day, Davis ‘s attorney, Steve Farese, announces Davis will be gone from his job for 30 to 60 days for medical treatment.

Jan. 12: The Commercial Appeal reports that Davis, already ordered to repay $170,000 in personal charges, penalties and interest to the city, may have also benefited from credit card charges, as much as $48,000 in one year alone, to the Southaven Chamber of Commerce.

Jan. 13: State Auditor's office announces the outstanding debt Davis was ordered to repay has been reduced by $10,000. Davis now owes $62,881.89. He repaid $96,000 earlier.

Jan. 15: The Commercial Appeal reports that Southaven taxpayers may end up paying as much as $4 million for a fire station the city was leasing through an unusual no-bid contract negotiated by Davis with businessmen David Gary Murphy and Stephen M. Gross.

Jan. 17: The Southaven Board of Aldermen votes unanimously to buy out the lease on the fire station for $2.7 million.

Jan. 22: The Commercial Appeal reports that Davis has received as much as $685,000 from the city and chamber since 2009, or about $228,000 a year.

Jan. 26: The Commercial Appeal reports that the Mississippi Department of Transportation has frozen funding for all new Mississippi Department of Transportation projects in Southaven because of the ongoing auditor's investigation into Davis' spending.

Jan. 29: The Commercial Appeal reports that Davis' friends, Chuck Roberts and Jamie Harris, made millions from the city in land deals and work done on city contracting projects.

Jan. 30: Davis reappears at City Hall and announces he has no plans to resign as mayor.

August: Davis' former wife, Suzann Savage Davis, files a petition accusing him of hiding assets from her, drinking excessively around his children and using his political clout to threaten her. She seeks an amended child support arrangement and other changes to the original divorce settlement.

November: Four Southaven aldermen, the city's former Human Resources Director and Police Chief Tom Long file affidavits that say Davis altered payroll documents given to his former wife that showed he made less money than he actually did.

December: Davis is indicted by a DeSoto County grand jury on three counts. He is charged with two counts of embezzlement by a public official and one count of false pretense.